The present invention relates to footbeds for footwear, especially decorative footbeds for open style footwear, such as sandals and the like, and a process of making the same.
It has become popular to provide sandals and similar open style footwear with decorative footbeds to enhance their appearance both on and off the foot. Recently, industrial carpeting has been adopted as a sturdy, long wearing footbed material which, when employed in the unlikely environment of open style footwear, imparts an unusual and esthetically pleasing visual quality to the footwear, as well as foot comfort. Among materials that have been employed are artificial grass and similar carpeting materials.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,029,372 and DES. 429,555, for example, utilize as a footbed an industrial carpeting material comprised of filaments of polyvinyl chloride intertwined to form a cushioning, breathable network body that is very attractive and comfortable and that stands up to the abusive service to which sandals and beach footwear are subjected.
It is an object of the present invention to provide footwear footbeds incorporating a variety of decorative enhancements.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide footwear footbeds made of industrial carpeting and/or like products and including a variety of esthetic design elements comprised of one or more of shape, form, color and/or decorative print.
More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide decorative footbeds for footwear comprised of a body of weldable plastic material, a preselected pattern physically welded into the footbed material, and a decorative print or pattern welded to the physical pattern.
In accordance with the invention, a material is selected that is suitable for use as a footbed and comprised of a body of weldable filaments or fibers having a given decorative appearance; a pattern is physically welded into the weldable filaments or fibers to form a physical pattern therein or thereon; and a decorative print or pattern is welded to the physical pattern to impart thereto an appearance the same as, complementary to or contrasting with the appearance of the body of filaments or fibers. Additionally, the body of filaments or fibers may include a base or backing, which may also have a given decorative appearance, e.g., similar to, complementary to or contrasting with the appearance of the body of filaments or fibers, the physical pattern welded therein or thereon and/or the decorative print or pattern welded thereto.
Further in accordance with the invention, a process is provided for conveniently producing decorative footbeds that is comprised of the steps of selecting a sheet of weldable plastic material suitable for use as a footbed material, placing a transfer sheet bearing a decorative transfer print or pattern onto the sheet of weldable plastic material, subjecting the sheet of weldable plastic material and the transfer sheet to plastic welding energy in a preselected physical pattern, and causing the physical pattern to be welded into the weldable plastic material and the decorative transfer print or pattern to be transferred to and welded to the weldable plastic material.
The process is simple and economical to practice and produces decorative footbeds that are novel, unusual and highly attractive.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those reasonably skilled in the art from the following detailed description, as taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.